VietNamNet Bridge – The race to secondary schools proves to be less stiff than the races to primary schools and high schools. However, it is very difficult to obtain a seat at prestigious schools. 


Le Hong Son, Director of the HCM City Education and Training Department, said that the department has released a document on the enrolment mechanism for grammar schools. Under the mechanism, the students, who finish the primary school curriculum, can apply for the secondary schools in the same districts.
 
Secondary schools will consider the learning achievements of students to decide to accept them. The learning records to be considered are the marks students got from the second semester’s mathematics and Vietnamese language exams of the fifth grade. The students, who win high prizes at the competitions for excellent students, can get privileges in applying for schools.
 
In principle, all the students who finished primary schools have the right to study further at state owned secondary schools. However, it is not easy to enroll in “star schools”.
 
The Nguyen Du Secondary School, which is considered the best secondary school in district 1 of HCM City, only enrolls students who live in Ben Thanh ward, where the school is located.
 
According to Dinh Thien Can, Head of the District 1’s Education Sub-department, Nguyen Du is not capable to receive all the students in the district, therefore, it only accepts the students, who got 18 marks and higher from the mathematics and Vietnamese language exams. The students, who got 10-less than 18 marks would have to go to other secondary schools.
 
Different mechanisms are being applied in enrolling students for secondary schools in different districts. In districts 3, 5 and Phu Nhuan, certain state owned secondary schools receive students from certain primary schools.
 
The same mechanism is being applied in Tan Binh District. However, in the district, there is also an additional regulation that the students who have good learning results can apply for any state owned secondary school in the district.
 
With the mechanism, the enrolment process of the secondary schools in the district will consist of two phases. In the first phase, excellent students with high learning results register their study at the schools they want. In the second phase, schools will accept registrations from students based by considering their primary schools (the students finishing certain primary schools will go to certain secondary schools).
 
Nguyen Thanh Hai, Head of the Tan Binh District’s Education Sub-department, said that the privileges given to excellent students aim to encourage study. The number of students who have the right to choose the schools to study at just accounts for 20 percent of the total students finishing primary schools.
 
“Star schools” attract all excellent students
 
In fact, the policy on giving privileges to excellent students once applied several years ago in districts 1 and 5. However, the mechanism once raised controversy because some experts believe that this is a kind of antiscientific method. This is believed to create “star schools” where parents and students will race.
 
Can from District 1’s Education Sub-department also said that the mechanism on allowing excellent students to choose the schools to study at has been removed in his district. If the mechanism continues, prestigious schools will attain all excellent students in the district, while other schools will have no excellent student. Meanwhile, in general education, it is necessary to create equality among different schools.
 
Vo Thi Ngoc Thu, Head of the District 5’s Education Sub-department, also said that enrolling students from primary schools proves to be the best solution, which allows all secondary schools to have both good and bad students.
 
Regarding the policy on excellent students, Thu said that there are many measures to encourage students’ study, including opening excellent students’ clubs or the classes for excellent students.
 
Source: Nguoi lao dong